


Rude interruptions

by EonaSPN



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Date Night Interrupted, Drunkenness, F/M, Kaidan bashing?, Kaidan being an ass, Past Kaidan Alenko/Female Shepard, first fanfic here, mentioned Shepard/Kaidan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 17:16:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14359992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EonaSPN/pseuds/EonaSPN
Summary: One peaceful evening is all she wanted, but apparently even that is asking too much. When she is called to Purgatory because a crew member is causing a scene, she did not expect the personal disaster that ensues.My first story both on this page and in this fandom. Not for Kaidan-fans





	Rude interruptions

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone,  
> my first time posting something on AO3, so I don't really know how to tag yet. I already have a few stories on fanfiction.net (EonaDGM) but since this is a completely new fandom for me as well, I wanted to post it here first.
> 
> Not to mention that I haven't uploaded anything for half a year. Long story short, my life went down the drain and I couldn't even motivate myself to write anything. Recently an eye injury left writing one of the few things I was allowed to do, so I hope I can go back to posting frequently.
> 
> This is just a one-shot I started yesterday when I was bored at work and then wrote it in one go the same evening.
> 
> Fair warning ahead. This is not a Kaidan-friendly story, because I don't like him, sorry. He might also be OOC for the sake of the fic, so if you are a Kaidan fan, no flames, you have been warned. Simply read a different story.  
> Any mistakes in Mass Effect lore are mine because I only started playing the games recently.
> 
> I don't own any of the characters just fell in love with the Shakarian couple like many others.

„You better not start the vid without me,” Sophia Shepard calls towards the living area of the apartment.

“I would never dare,” the dual voice of her boyfriend responds, amusement clear in his tone, “I’m still not sure what the movie is about to begin with.”

“I told you,” she chuckles, balancing a bowl of popcorn and the curiously smelling equivalent for turians in each hand, “It’s a human movie from the 21st century how they imagined the future in space would be like,” she grins.

Garrus looks up at her in fond confusion as she steps around the partition, snacks in hand, “You are living that future. Why would you watch vids about it?”

She shrugs, placing the bowls on the small coffee table and letting herself fall down on the turian-style couch next to him, “I always liked watching them. To see how they imagined it and compare it to our reality, even though the movies are over a hundred years old. And now,” she leans forward, pressing a kiss to his scarred mandible, “I would be very interested in what my very alien boyfriend thinks of our silly human imagination.”

He shakes his head fondly, but the happy rumble in his chest is undeniable. These are the moments he treasures the most, when she finally sheds the skin of the Commander and the hero of the galaxy and simply becomes Sophia, the woman he loves. Such moments are incredibly rare in the middle of this war, even during shore leave like they are on right now. After a close encounter with Reapers the Normandy is in desperate need of repairs, so her crew has gotten free time. After running countless errands for people on the Citadel, she had sent him a message to spend the rest of the one day they have left with him alone. Date night is what she called it when he eagerly accepted. That’s how he finds himself on the couch of the apartment he lived in during his C-Sec times (still rented by Vakarian curtesy of his father) to watch some old Earth vid called ‘Star Treck’.

“Anything for you,” he hums, nuzzling her hair.

She laughs softly, blue eyes for once free of the constant strain she carries these days. To see her relaxed and happy like that he would truly do anything. He just hopes none of the crew decides now is the right time to cause trouble.

“The rest of the crew is out celebrating in the bars,” he mentions cautiously as she cuddles closer.

“Hmm,” she hums into his neck, “And I put a communication block on all of them for tonight,” sitting up, she locks her eyes with his, “I want to spend the evening with you only. No Reapers, no Cerberus, no Council and no crew. Only you and some old earth movies,” the warmth in his chest spreads further at her words and his subharmonics thrum with happiness and love, earning him a bright smile from her, “Unless you would prefer to go partying.”

He pulls her close, burying his nose in her hair, “There is nowhere else I’d rather be than here,” he purrs.

“Me neither,” she smiles, making a humming sound in the back of her throat.

She gives him a soft peck on his mouthplates, then cuddles into his side for the movie, curling as close to his warmth as she can get. He rumbles in contentedness as his arm settles around her waist to rub soft circles into her back. She smiles happily as she presses play on the old copy of ‘Star Treck Beyond’ she found in her video library. Nothing is going to interrupt this one evening of peace that she has granted herself in the middle of the war.

But she is Commander Shepard so even asking for a single evening is apparently too much. The Enterprise has just crashed on the strange planet and the turian stares confused at the completely white woman introduced as a new alien race, when their peace is broken. It starts out innocent enough as a chime on her terminal. She only groans and buries her face into Garrus’ civil clothes. He chuckles, reaching a long arm out to turn it off when she mumbles it into his shoulder. Her omnitool beeps next but she resolutely taps the off button.

“Don’t you want to know what is wrong?” he asks eventually, hating to break her happiness.

“No,” she says, “I want this one evening. Whatever it is can either wait until tomorrow or someone else can take care of it for once. There are enough capable soldiers out there.”

He nods in agreement, pulling her closer instead. She more than deserves that and it’s not the first time that he thought everyone liked dumping any kind of problem on her, even if they could easily be solved by someone else. She gives him another short kiss, then focuses back on the screen, giggling about Scotty’s awkward interactions.

“Sounds a bit familiar,” Garrus tilts his head at the engineer.

“A bit, doesn’t it?” she grins up at him with an impish smile, “I always thought – “

“Commander Shepard,” a male turian voice suddenly comes from her terminal. She groans deeply, “I am sorry that I have to disturb you. This is C-Sec speaking.”

She growls, head dropping against her own turian’s cowl, “If this is about me weeding out some Cerberus cell, finding you something or saving someone, forget it. Call again tomorrow if it’s not urgent. If it is, call Jacob Taylor. He is a capable soldier and currently on the Citadel.”

“No, ma’am,” the officer seems a bit startled by her answer but presses on nonetheless, “Nothing like that. Like I said I am sorry to disturb you, but we were called to Purgatory this evening where one of your crew members was found destroying things and bothering patrons.”

“If this is Grunt again, I am confiscating his favourite shotgun,” she grumbles as talons caress her hair soothingly.

“No, ma’am. Said crew member is human,” the C-Sec officer responds.

“Human?” she frowns, shifting through the men in her crew. Did Vega drink too much? Doesn’t sound like him though. She shakes her head. Their problem. Working on the Normandy is not a get-out-of-jail-free-card (young krogans on their birthdays excluded, a single time at least). Her crew is responsible for themselves.

“Can’t you just arrest them and have them spend the night in a cell? Return them to the Normandy tomorrow with a bill?” she suggests, earning herself a chuckle from both turians even though the officer still sounds tense.

“Unfortunately not. He is a biotic and throwing his powers around. Arresting him forcefully could result in civilians getting caught in the crossfire,” he explains as Garrus grumbles ‘C-Sec regulations’ in slightly fond annoyance under his breath. She throws him a look and snorts, “He insists we call you, Commander. Then he will follow without complaint.”

She growls aggressively, pushing herself away from her boyfriend, “I swear whoever that is,” she hesitates, “Especially if this is Kaidan, I am going to kill him myself,” she glares at the terminal, “I am going to be there as fast as I can.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” the turian responds, subharmonics conveying relief even past the terminal’s static, “Like I said, I am sorry to bother you,” he says before disconnecting.

“One evening!” she growls as soon as the call ends, “One freaking evening of peace is all I wanted!” her own biotics flare around her hands as she stands up, “But I can’t even get that. If there is no big attack some biotic idiot forgot how to hold his liqueur.”

Hurriedly Garrus follows his furious girlfriend, wrapping his arms around her despite the biotic energy sizzling against his skin, “Calm down,” he nuzzles her neck even though the purple aura stings at his more sensitive hide, “Let’s go deal with Kaidan. Get him arrested by C-Sec, get him a nice bad mark on his new Spectre record and then we come back here and see how Kurk and Spocky get off the planet again.”

“Kirk and Spock,” she corrects, but a chuckle seeps back into her voice as the biotic energy sizzles out, “Yeah, let’s get it over with.”

“Like this?” he throws her an amused look, “Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate your outfit but I’m not sure whether you want to go out like that. And I would prefer to keep this sight to myself as well,” he smirks, motioning towards her clothes.

She looks down at herself, “Right,” she flushes but her eyes still twinkle, “I will go change. An oversized hoody and shorts is not the right outfit to go running around the Citadel.”

She tugs at the hem of her sweater before heading towards the bedroom. He brushes his knuckles along her bare thigh as she passes him and she grins at him over her shoulder. He contemplates putting on his armour but decides that it might be a bit over the top. Sophia is the stronger sentinel so even if Kaidan should lash out she can take him down without problem. Nonetheless he picks up a small firearm to take along. Never go anywhere without a gun. Shepard seems to think similarly, bringing a currently unload sidearm with her when she emerges from the bedroom again, dressed in military clothes.

“Ready to kick some Spectre ass for interrupting our date night,” she grins at him, mood apparently lifted despite the prospect of having to deal with the man she never got along with again after the first Normandy was destroyed.

“Kaidan? Always,” he responds with a chuckle.

He and the biotic never got along too well on the old Normandy but they accepted each other. They could fight together if needed, though he can’t remember a specific mission they were on together, Shepard preferring to take Liara along for biotic force instead of the human. What little he remembers of the man back then is that he followed the Commander around like a lost puppy. She never acknowledged him all that much, rather spending time with the alien members of her crew or Joker. What he certainly won’t forget is the hate sparking from brown eyes when they saw him on Horizon. Speaking of love, but his voice expressing the opposite. Shepard’s eyes had gone hard at his accusations, rebuffing him angrily. Garrus had been worried about her that day but she had told him later that the night before Ilos apparently meant a lot more to Kaidan than to her. She had followed the revelation that to her it was nothing more than stress relief with the assurance that Garrus meant much more to her than the human ever would. Not that he doubted her but it made him feel warm nonetheless. That day on Horizon sparked a proper dislike for Kaidan in the turian and it had only grown when he stood between Shepard and Udina. When the biotic returned to the Normandy though he started displaying open hostility towards Garrus, apparently feeling like he stole Shepard from him. Since then the two males can’t stand each other.

Shaking his head, he follows his girlfriend who is striding with clear annoyance towards the shuttle port outside. Her driving is a bit more aggressive than usual but it’s still more peaceful than accompanying her in the mako (he loves his girlfriend, but her handling of that vehicle was terrifying). He grips one hand into his seat nonetheless, just to be sure. With a growl she sets the skycar down in front of Purgatory harshly. He snorts, throwing her an exasperated look at the exaggerated theatrics. She sighs but nods. Getting out of the transport, they are approached by a young looking turian with dark plates and yellow markings, clad in the typical blue C-Sec armour.

“Commander Shepard,” he bows his head respectfully, “Thanks for coming.”

“You’re the one who called?” she asks, nodding her head to him.

“Yes,” the other turian nods, eyes slipping from her face and running down her body in a way that has Garrus’ subharmonics try to rise in a growl.

“It’s Kaidan, isn’t it?” Sophia sighs, hearing indiscernible human shouting from inside the club.

“Yes,” the C-Sec officer nods again, “Apparently he came here with other members of the Normandy crew who have left by now. He drank too much which means his biotics are getting out of control. He promised to go with us peacefully though if we called you here, ma’am.”

“Don’t call me ‘ma’am’,” she waves him off, turning towards the club entrance, “What did he do?”

“Throw tables and liquor bottles around, at patrons on occasion. Shoved a few people with his biotics and refuses to move now,” he explains, greenish eyes lingering on where the play of her muscles is visible at her back through the military jacket.

A growl rises in Garrus’ chest, earning him a curious look from her as she turns around with anger pulling her face, “I am going to warp that idiot’s ass into next week myself. Or maybe simply allow Javik to finally throw him out of the airlock. He already asked more than once.”

She huffs with annoyance then strides off in her best ‘Commander’ posture. Garrus can basically feel the interest radiating from the C-Sec officer next to him as he stares at Sophia’s back. At his girlfriend. This time he doesn’t even try to hide the growl, possessiveness and challenge sounding clear from his subharmonics. The younger turian startles, looking at him with wide eyes, and immediately backs down. Feeling a hint of smug satisfaction, Garrus continues past the stunned officer and walks after the woman.

Inside though the proceedings seem to be going about as wrong as is possible. Kaidan is slumped backwards against the bar, purple aura radiating around him. He is grinning drunkenly, a bottle still in his fingers. A group of tables and chairs is overturned in the corner, splashes of different colours all over it, luckily none of them blood. Two more C-Sec officers, an older turian and a female human are stood aside with a bored look. Shepard herself is in front of the Spectre, arms crossed and eyes cold. Knowing without looking that he just entered, she waves towards C-Sec.

“Garrus, do me the favour and handle the paperwork. You know the process much better than I do. I never managed to actually get arrested,” she says without taking annoyed eyes off Kaidan.

“Ah yesh,” the biotic slurs as the turian heads over to the two blue clad figures, “There ‘e ish. The Commanser’s turian side’ick. Ne’er anywhere without him.”

“Kaidan,” she scolds, “Stop being an idiot. Turn off the biotics and stop bothering people.”

“Hick,” he takes another swig from the bottle, “Being an idiot?” he giggles, “Yeah, guess I am,” he startles upright, “But so are you.”

Shepard rubs her forehead, “Yes, an idiot for allowing you back on the Normandy apparently,” she mumbles then focuses back on Kaidan, “Come on, behave. We don’t have time for this. Stop causing a scene and get away from here.”

“Donn caushe a scene, eh?” he chuckles darkly and Garrus really doesn’t like the look in his eyes before his attention is drawn back to the C-Sec officer.

“Listen everyone,” Kaidan spins around drunkenly, suddenly yelling, “The big Commanner doeshn’t want a scene. Letsch just all push everything under the carpet,” he laughs, “All thoshe dirty things.”

Sophia groans, rubbing at the developing headache, “Kaidan! Get a hold of yourself. This is enough.”

“Enough!” he giggles hysterically, throwing an unconscious wave of biotic energy out that upends another chair, “Isn’t it enough what you did?”

“I did? What did I do?” she asks confusedly in an attempt to diffuse the situation, seeing Garrus put a talon on his concealed firearm in the corner of her vision, “Is this still about me working with Cerberus? Everybody knows that, it was on the news. And I thought we got past that.”

“Sherberus?” he looks totally lost for a moment, “No, no, who cares,” he waves it off, purple intensifying.

“Then what is it?” she huffs, simply wanting to get this over with.

“You toying with peoplesch hearts!” he yells suddenly, causing numerous heads to turn to them.

“I what?” now she is lost, exchanging a look with Garrus, “Could you pipe down a bit and explain that to me.”

“Pipe down?” he asks, “No, no. This ish good!” he laughs.

‘This is not good,’ Garrus thinks, fingering his weapon.

“Yesh, let everybody know,” he spins around, even more heads turning, “Let them know what kind of cold bitch the kind hearted Commanner Shepard is in private.”

“Kaidan, stop it!” she calls, true anger now rising in her voice, “This is bullshit.”

“No bullsit!” he grins at her, sloppy barrier rising around him, bitterness twisting his face, “Makesh you fall in love with ‘er,” he calls out, addressing the room in general, “Makesh you hope and then disharges you first chanshe she gets,” he yells loudly.

“What?” Shepard is staring at him with wide eyes, “That is what this is about? Seriously?” she shakes her head, “We’ve been over that as well. I never gave you any indication that it was going to be more than one time,” she cringes at the attention they are receiving.

“You made promishes – “ he starts but she cuts him off.

“I did nothing of the like!” she growls back, “And you know that as well as I do!”

He glares at her defiantly for a few moments, purple aura still too thick to take him down easily, “Fine then,” he swirls around, biotics giving him a boost to propel him upwards a bit, in a perfect place to be heard by anyone currently in the club, “Letsch hear thish then.”

“Hear what?” she sighs, her own biotics flaring, “Get down here, Kaidan. Enough now! This is an order.”

He giggles, “An order, eh?” brown eyes snapping ominously to Garrus, “You order ‘im around too?”

“Leave Garrus out of this,” she sighs.

“No, hesh part of thisch as well,” Kaidan argues, “It wash alwaysh him, washn’t it?” he laughs, “I wash jusht a toy, washn’t I?” first omnitools are flashing in the crowd to record the scene unfolding around the famous Commander.

“What do you want from me, Kaidan?” Shepard asks, “What will it take for you to stop this?”

“Wash it fun to play with my feelingsh?!” the overdramatic biotic yells.

Sophia groans, this conversation is going in circles, “I never promised you anything more than one night, Kaidan. It was just stress relief, nothing else. No, that was not because of Garrus or anyone else,” she easily speaks the lie, “I did not want a relationship at the time and I never offered one either. So get over your falsely hurt feelings and stop this madness.”

“Falshley hurt feelingsh?” he yells back, still broadcasting it to the whole club, “You toyed with me and then simply shwitshed to him,” he waves in Garrus’ direction which means the turian has to duck from an uncontrolled biotic wave, “Are you toying with him as well?” that gets the turian an apologetic look from Sophia but he only shakes his head. He knows she’s not after all. Kaidan laughs bitterly, “No, you’re not. Alwaysh been him,” he repeats, then focuses bleary eyes on the turian, “What doesh he do that I can’t?”

“Kaidan! Enough!” she yells again, biotics rising as the male’s get sloppy.

“You do like it rough after all!” the human bares his teeth, causing amused sounds from the crowd, “Maybe a dangerous predator is the better choice for you,” Garrus really doesn’t like the look in the brown eyes, drawing the gun behind his back.

Shepard on the other hand has flushed in humiliation at his words, “Would you mind shutting up? That’s really inappropriate – “

“Inappopi – “ he breaks in laughingly, “Yes,” he cheers, gaining an eager crowds attention, “The great Commanner likes it rough in the sheetsch,” he repeats, ignoring her protests, “Tell me,” he motions towards Garrus again, “Doesh he bite you? Do you enjoy it when he sinks his teeth in your neck, Commanner? Or when he scatches you raw? Do you aschk him to make you bleed?” he grins manically, biotics and alcohol (and possibly drugs) combining to a dangerous high that puts Kaidan completely out of his mind.

“Kaidan!” Shepard yells mortified, “Even if that were remotely true, it’s more than private.”

“Yesh, our famous Commaner,” he swirls in the air, “Such a proper, nice and clean person in the public,” brown eyes glint dangerously but totally dazed, “But turnsh in a control freak in bed, a controlling masho - mashosist – maso.”

Garrus is frozen in place, too many eyes resting on him as he waits for the furious Shepard to give him any clue about what she wants to do next. She on the other hand is shocked into unmoving. How could Kaidan say anything like that? She knows they never made it to good terms again but to be so intent on getting revenge on her… She feels like she barely ever knew him. Not to mention the possible fallouts of this incident. She cares little for what the media or even the public thinks of her, she will do her job either way. But Garrus… She throws the turian a worried look. Cool blue eyes lock with hers and he simply nods. Immediately she breathes easier. He still has her back, even though she dragged him into the most mortifying situation possible.

“Oh, did she enshoy ordering me around,” Kaidan giggles above them and despite the fact that she would like to be anywhere but here, Sophia focuses on the turian sniper and ignores the manic biotic sprouting anecdotes from the one night they spent together, “Sit, strip. I’m in control!” he attempts to posture and she rolls her eyes. She only did that because he seemed more lost than Garrus during their first night and that’s saying something, “Do you do the shame with him?” another wave to the turian who readies his weapon with concussive shots behind his back, “Or doesh he pin you like the animal he ish?” now he hears a few complaining growls from turians in the crowd, “Burry his teeth in your neck until you drip with blood? Do you ashk him to drag him talons down his back like you did with me? I bet he caushesh more pain than I ever could,” he grins manically and Sophia signals Garrus with her eyes and he gives a flick of the mandible back, “Do you look like you fought a battle when you come? Doesh he enshoy that as much as you do? I bet –“

But then she finally gives the cue. A strong warp flies from her fingers, shattering every bit of biotic aura around Kaidan. He gives an unmanly squeak as his balance topples. Calculating the human falling, Garrus fires his concussive shot, hitting him squarely without hurting him too much. The biotic pipes up for a second, but the turian from C-Sec is there immediately, hitting the butt of his rifle against the man’s temple and he slumps unconscious.

Putting away his weapon, Garrus strides over to Sophia. The moment Kaidan dropped, some of the tension had dissipated from her body, leaving the tired woman he has become painfully used to seeing these days. She sighs, burying her red face in her hands. He reaches her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She makes a rough sound in her chest but doesn’t look up, just slightly leaning into his touch. The C-Sec female approaches and clears her throat.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Shepard looks up, straightening back into her Commander persona.

“Yes?”

“Thank you for coming and solving this. It could have gotten ugly if you hadn’t.”

“It did get ugly any way,” she chuckles wryly.

“True, but no one got hurt. That’s something,” the woman tries a smile then motions towards the unconscious biotic, “What do you want us to do about him?”

“Put him in a cell. Find out what stuff he has in his system so you can put up a warning sign for biotics next time. Then let him get sober,” she sighs exhaustedly.

“Do you want us to bring him to the Normandy tomorrow?”

Shepard hesitates for a moment, “No, the last thing I need is him on my ship right now. If he has no apartment on the Citadel find him somewhere to stay once he is sober enough. I am sure his Spectre status can get him something. I will get someone to bring him his belongings from the ship.”

“Alright,” the woman says, throwing a look at the eagerly whispering crowd, “For what it’s worth, I am really sorry for the scene he caused.”

“Not your fault,” she shakes her head, “I guess that’s just another example of how one-night-stands with subordinates are a terrible idea.”

“Maybe. Or it’s about the person you’re with,” the officer flicks her eyes past Shepard to where the two turians are taking Kaidan away, “Take care, Commander.”

“You too,” she nods, slumping the moment the other woman has turned away and her figure is hidden from the rest of the crowd by Garrus’ larger frame.

“You okay?” he asks her carefully.

“No,” she breathes, for a moment actually looking like she wants to hide behind his form, then she straightens a bit more, “Yes, I’m okay,” she corrects even though he does not believe it for a single moment, “I just want to get out of here.”

“Immediately,” he agrees, one hand at the small of her back pushing her towards the exit of the club.

She lets him lead her, still in a bit of a daze. Doing her best to ignore the various looks and whispers thrown her way. Hers and Garrus’. This embarrassing scene is going to be all over the media tomorrow. They are going to have a field day. She whispers an apology that only he can hear though he is not sure what she is apologising for. He lets his thumb rub a circular pattern into her back as she walks out of Purgatory. The ride back to his apartment is silent, her knuckles white around the steering wheel. He tries to sooth her, softly rumbling at her and rubbing her shoulders, but the tension remains in her body until they door swishes closed behind them. The setup for their movie night still standing where they left it, looking as lost as she feels.

The moment the lock clicks in place, her whole form slumps and she sacks onto the couch, face burying in her hands, “I’m sorry,” she mumbles again as the sofa dips and Garrus sits next to her, wrapping her in his arms.

“What are you apologising for? Kaidan was the idiot, not you,” he rumbles in an attempt to comfort her.

“For dragging you into this,” she shakes her head, apparently indecisive whether to bury further into his warmth or pull away. In the end she decides for the former, “That night with Kaidan was my fault, but now he said all of those things about you too, just because you happen to be with me right now.”

“That’s what you are worried about? Some bad talk from a biotic so high of alcohol he barely remembered his own name,” he pulls her up to look at him, caressing her cheeks, “Not to mention many say those things about turians in general,” he strokes the forming dark circles under her eyes, “I couldn’t care less about things like that.”

She gives him a surprisingly wet chuckle, pulling her face from his hands to bury it into his throat again, “I don’t deserve you, Garrus.”

“If anything, you deserve someone better than me and I don’t deserve you,” he rumbles softly, stroking her hair.

“There is no one better than you,” she smiles up at him, then presses her forehead against his, “And you do deserve everything I can give you and more for always being there, both by guarding my back in battle and being my anchor when my strength fails me.”

“I have followed you into hell before and I will do it again anytime,” he promises, then after a moment of silence adds in an attempt to lighten the mood, “Remember what I walked into with you. Ilos? The Collector Base? Some embarrassing news stories are nothing compared to that.”

She shakes her head, “That is different. The Collector Base was a mission. I asked you and anyone else as a Commander asking her soldiers to trust her. But this is personal. Kaidan and the media is going to attack you because you are in a relationship with me as a private person who happens to have a title attached to her name.”

“Not to me,” he says, “I will follow you anywhere no matter what. Whether I am following as a soldier or a boyfriend doesn’t matter to me. I love you, Sophia,” he breathes against her lips, “And I will proudly walk behind you no matter where you go or who you face.”

She shakes her head, “I have no idea how you always manage to find the exact right words, Garrus,” she pecks his mouth, “I love you too.”

The kiss they share is passionate and long until she runs out of air. Then she slumps against him, leeching off his warmth. He strokes her back and the comforting rumble sounds from his chest again, even though Sophia does not completely understand his subharmonics. After a few minutes of peaceful silence, she stiffens again.

“Uh, just for the record,” her voice sounds unsure, “That with Kaidan was a one-night-stand to relief some tension. I never offered him anything more though he seems to think so. But this,” she strokes his scarred mandible, “This relationship is nothing like that. I –“

He cuts off her babbling with a kiss to her lips, “I know. I never doubted it. Well, maybe I did before Menea. But after you invited me to move to your cabin and our day on the Presidium, no chance. You’re stuck with me.”

The smile he gets for that is bright, “So are you. Think you can deal with that, Vakarian?” she grins.

“I am more than happy to,” his mandibles spread wide as she moves over to straddle his lap and his hands settle on her warm thighs, her forehead pressing against his, “For as long as you will have me.”

She smiles, kissing him again. Then she suddenly sighs again, slumping against his body. He supports her with surprise, subharmonics flaring in surprise and worry. She chuckles wryly.

“I wanted one evening of peace. To cuddle here with you and watch old earth movies. But I guess that’s too much to ask for,” she sighs with a mixture of sadness and annoyance, “If it’s not a political crisis, it’s some falsely hurt crew mate spewing lies and half-truths about my sex life. Honestly I would have preferred another coup over that. Or the Reapers,” she laughs into his cowl, “They could have made themselves useful for once and blew up Kaidan from orbit. Saved us a lot of trouble.”

“True that,” he hums, nuzzling her throat, “But it’s not like we can’t have a nice evening anymore, right?”

“Right, but now we would have to start the movie over again,” she huffs, rubbing her cheek against the scarred side of his face, dragging her lips lightly over his mandible.

He grins, mandibles spreading wide. He breathes into her ear, causing a shiver to run through her body. His healthy mandible flickers in her hair and his thumbs start to massage her thighs. She chuckles, one of her hands travelling up his neck to the underside of his fringe.

“I am sure we can find some other way to entertain ourselves,” he purrs in her ear in the way he knows she likes it.

“Hm,” she hums, rubbing at the most sensitive spot under his fringe, “I am sure we will,” she smirks, eyes intense, “But the right way.”

He chuckles huskily, leaning up to kiss her as his fingers softly start to slip under her shirt. She smiles against his mouth as their tongues tangle. He returns it with happy rumbling. The only thing he can think is that Kaidan never really knew Sophia. She never let him close enough to see actually her, not that he would have deserved it either. And Garrus is more than happy that he is the one she chose in the end. He growls in arousal as she presses her strong body against his, his hand already stroking her skin under the shirt. With that every last thought about the unpleasant situation just a few minutes earlier is pushed out of their minds and for a short time their worlds only consist of each other.

**Author's Note:**

> That's it. Thanks for reading.
> 
> I always liked the thought of Shepard or someone else going rewatching movies like Star Treck or Star Wars just to see how humans imagined it back then and then showing those movies to the alien crew members to see what they think of it (might write a one-shot on that as well one day).
> 
> Hope you liked it. Kudos are always appreciated :)


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